1. Italian. The whole language. I think there was a time last semester when I could have a fairly coherent conversation with an Italian citizen, but it turns out you can’t just jump back into that. Not that it kept me from trying… and making a complete fool of myself.
2. How to walk on cobblestones. Seriously?! I still don’t know how these Italian women do it in heels. I could swear the stones jump up and trip me just when I think I’ve got the hang of it again. And running? Forget about it. (…so maybe that’s not the only reason I don’t run… GET OFF MY BACK, OK?!)
3. Catcalls. Everything you’ve ever heard about how aggressive/rowdy Italian men are in the streets is true. Like, “Ciao Bella” wasn’t actually made up just for those souvenirs that have it written on them like the Coca-Cola label. People actually say it. All the time.
4. It’s crowded. Europeans have a totally different concept of personal space. By “totally different” I mean “non-existent”. Sometimes I get the feeling it’s an intentional shoulder-brush (see #3), but most of the time I think they just genuinely don’t care about being that close to other people. Which leads me to wonder if I had stopped noticing last semester because I got used to it?
5. You really do take incredible trips. Every weekend. A few days after returning to the villa, we headed out to stay in Naples and see Pompeii and Herculaneum, two cities destroyed by Vesuvius and pretty incredibly preserved by all the mud and volcanic rock that covered them. The next weekend, we were off to Venice to celebrate Carnevale. This past weekend, we took a little trip down to Rome to check out the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Borghese and the Vatican. Every time I see a new part of Italy, I fall in love with it a little more. It’s such an incredible country.
6. How to book a hostel. Maybe this one’s just me, but I was definitely in big trouble when I booked out hostel for Rome for the wrong weekend…. Oops. Don’t worry; we recovered. We’re only a few euros poorer because of it. On that note…
7. How small your bank account is. After being home and living like a queen (My own room? With a queen-sized bed? You’re paying for dinner? AND giving me presents?!), I came back to Europe and remembered what it’s like to travel on a budget. When you have to pick between a restaurant one night and Prague the next weekend, you pick Prague. (And you actually find a flight for the money you would’ve spent out at dinner.)
8. How good Italian food is. Do I really have to elaborate on this one? Pasta. Tiramisu Tuesday. Gelato. Pizza. Cappuccinos.
9. Great Books follows you everywhere. This really applies to all of our classes; it’s just that I have noticed Great Books discussions a lot more lately. You’re on a train somewhere in the Tuscan hills and WHAM! you find yourself talking about Ivan Karamazov. Or maybe you’re in a museum and you hear yourself start to rattle off the title, artist, time period, style and significance of a painting without looking at the plaque on the wall.
10. Italy is beautiful. I mean truly, undeniably beautiful. You live right in the middle of it for three months and almost become immune to it. When you leave and come back, though, it hits you right between the eyes. The green stripes of vineyards in the countryside that mirror the green marble stripes on the Tuscan churches, the golden Gates of Paradise on the Baptistery, the regal Duomo and proud Campanile… the list goes on.
11. Pickpocketing happens. True story: We were jumping on the metro in Rome at the Colosseum when suddenly three girls rushed at one of my traveling companions, cutting her off from the rest of us. Before we realized what was happening, their hands were in her purse and everyone was pushing and shoving. Luckily, they quickly left empty-handed and disgruntled. Pepperdine students: 1, Roman pickpockets: 0.
12. Christmas Break. Wait, just one month ago I was in the USA? I saw my family? I visited 6 different countries? Yeah. I guess I did. If you want to check out my Christmas break adventures, you can click here: http://98andthreefourths.blogspot.it/2013/01/winter-break.html
13. Mom’s always right. Even when she’s on another continent, she just KNOWS. She can tell when you need to go back to the doctor, when you need a care package or a letter, etc. Always. (For those that might be counting: yes, this is my third trip to the doctor in Italy and, no, I’m not usually sick this often.)
14. How much you love your Florence family. We really are each other’s family over here, and it shows. Whether it’s a cappuccino at Café Libertá or a trip across the country, these are the people I’m with. We share our experiences, our home and our stories and I can’t imagine doing it without them.
15. Your blog. In the process of getting back into the swing of things, I forget to keep you all informed! Next up is our Educational Field Trip to Turkey and I promise I’ll have lots to say about it—it’ll be my first time to visit Asia! (Turkey lies 10% in Europe and 90% in Asia. We’ll be spending most of our time on the European side, just venturing into the Asian side to get a feel for the “real” Turkey.)
